


Fireworks

by heartsflush



Series: The Modern AU Zone [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 19:49:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11088711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsflush/pseuds/heartsflush
Summary: In which Kravitz gets a break and makes some friends. Also, colored light looks really good on Taako's face.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> inspired bc i watched some fireworks tonight lmao

Kravitz set his pen down with a beleaguered sigh. There’d just been no end to the paperwork recently; apparently, the funeral business was simply booming as of late. The summer heat didn’t help the situation at all. The other employees constantly complained and took all-too-frequent water breaks on account of the rising temperatures.

Since he was quite literally as cold as a dead man’s nose, Kravitz didn’t mind.

Balancing his day job at Willowgrove Funeral Home with his duties as the Raven Queen’s bounty hunter was tough, but Kravitz could handle it. He had a natural inclination towards easing the dead into the afterlife, so who’s to say he shouldn’t get paid for it? His work for the funeral home wasn’t exactly exciting, but he had other ways of getting excitement into his life.

Speaking of excitement, Kravitz’s Blackberry vibrated gently from inside his pocket. He pulled it out and smiled when he saw the name on the caller ID, clicking the button to pick up the call.

“Hello?” he answered, his smile growing when he heard the mellifluous voice on the other end.

“‘Sup, babe,” Taako replied. “How’s work?”

Kravitz let out another sigh. “Busy. On both ends. The summer heat is making people drop like flies.”

“Ugh, tell me about it,” Taako groaned. “I can’t get any good baking done because it’s too hot to turn on the damn oven.”

Kravitz smiled. “Perhaps you should make some ice cream.”

“Hon, how many episodes of _Chopped_ have we watched together? You know there’s always drama when it comes to the ice cream machine.” Kravitz heard Taako set something metallic down, then fiddle with the phone a bit before continuing. “Anyway, Lucretia’s invited the gang to her _giant_ house for Midsummer. Wanna come with?”

Kravitz’s smile changed into a frown. “Are you sure I wouldn’t be an uninvited guest? They don’t really know me all that well, and last I checked, Merle still holds a bit of a grudge for that whole arm thing…”

He heard a “pfft” on the other end before Taako replied with, “I’m sure he’s willing to let bygones be bygones. He probably forgot that you were the one responsible. So, you in?”

“I don’t know…” Kravitz trailed off, glancing at his calendar.

“I’m making a _baller_ pasta bake,” Taako added, his voice lilting.

Kravitz sighed. Taako’s food was his one weakness. “Alright, I’m in.”

“Sweet,” Taako replied. “Drop by my place at 5 and we’ll head over together, ‘kay?”

“You got it,” Kravitz answered. “I should probably finish my work now.”

“Alright, see ya, hotcakes,” Taako responded.

“Goodbye.” With that, Kravitz put down his phone, then sank down in his chair. He only hoped that there wouldn’t be too much conflict, but with Tres Horny Boys, life was a little unpredictable.

 

At exactly 4:59 pm on the day of the Midsummer Harvest Festival, Kravitz knocked on the door to Taako’s small apartment. He’d dressed as casually as he could, choosing a white button-down shirt and black slacks complimented by black dress shoes. Since he didn’t exactly feel heat, the long sleeves were no problem in the eighty-and-above weather, but he pulled back his dreads into a ponytail to give the illusion of being affected.

A few moments of waiting and the door swung open, revealing Taako leaning against the doorframe with his hand propped on his hip. He was dressed in a bright fuchsia off-shoulder crop top with the words “LICHES GET STITCHES” emblazoned across the front, accompanied by a pleated lavender skirt and gladiator sandals. His long hair was tied into a thick braid which hung over his shoulder, and his makeup perfectly accentuated the freckles adorning his face.

“Wow, hon, you really don’t know how to dress down, do you?” he quipped, giving Kravitz’s outfit a once-over.

Kravitz laughed. “I always have to be ready should the Raven Queen call.”

“I’m certainly not complaining,” the elf replied. He turned his head and shouted, “ANGO! Get down here, we’re about to leave!”

Kravitz heard an “Okay!” before the sound of footsteps bouncing down a set of stairs met his ears. Moments later, a face with big round glasses poked its head around the doorframe. Angus McDonald, the world’s greatest detective (at least according to himself) stood in the doorway, dressed in his Sunday best and carrying a plate of cookies.

“You’ve met Kravitz before, right Agnes?” Taako asked, ruffling Angus’s hair.

Angus nodded. “You picked me up from school once, sir!”

“Right,” Kravitz replied. “Nice to see you again, Angus.”

“You too, sir!” Angus responded, beaming at Kravitz.

Kravitz smiled before realizing that while Angus carried a tray full of baked goods, Taako’s arms were empty. “Er, Taako, didn’t you mention bringing a pasta bake?” he asked, returning his attention to the elf.

“Already sent it along with Lup, sweets,” Taako replied. Kravitz winced habitually; ever since he’d been assigned Lup’s boyfriend as a target by the Raven Queen, the two had been on thin ice. “Anyway,” Taako continued, “we should get going lest we be too fashionably late.”

Kravitz nodded, clutching the keys to his car a little tighter. Angus headed out first as Taako grabbed his phone and keys, shutting and locking the door behind him. As Taako walked towards the car, Kravitz couldn’t help but stare at the way his hips gently swayed, or how his braid was lifted by the gentle breeze, or how his eyes sparkled when he turned back to beckon Kravitz to the car.

He really had it bad, didn’t he?

 

The three pulled into the long driveway belonging to Lucretia after a ten-minute drive filled with witty banter and terrible navigation from Taako. As they left the car and headed inside, Kravitz couldn’t help but feel nervous; after all, this was the first time he’d been invited to “hang” with the rest of Taako’s friends, and he wasn’t sure a literal servant of death would serve to lighten the mood any.

Taako pushed open the door and yelled “The party has arrived, fuckers,” as he entered the foyer of Lucretia’s large house. Angus rushed in right after and added “And we brought cookies!” Kravitz couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle; the boy was quite adorable, after all.

Lup poked her head out from behind a corner and grinned. “Finally! I was wondering when you two…” She glanced at Kravitz and frowned a bit before continuing. “...sorry, three nerds would show up.”

“Lulu, you know the importance of being fashionably late,” Taako replied. Lup said nothing, but the glare she sent towards Taako said everything.

Taako, aloof as always, hooked an arm around Kravitz’s, eliciting a startled jump from the taller man. “You’ve met Krav, right? I’ve had him over a bajillion times.”

Lup nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been acquainted.” The stone-cold stare sent his way made Kravitz shiver a bit. “Well, come on in. Everyone else is out back.”

With that, she led the three into the kitchen so Angus could set down the cookies with the rest of the desserts, then opened the door onto the back porch. Outside, Magnus, Avi, Killian, and Carey were engaged in an intense game of cornhole (Lup informed them that Team Sweet Flips was destroying the boys by a country mile) while Julia watched from the sidelines, cheering on her husband. Merle and Lucretia sat on a picnic blanket a little ways away, quietly talking, while Barry, Johann, and Davenport were chattering around the buffet table.

Merle was the first to notice the four leaving the house. He gave Taako a wave with his wooden arm, then dropped it and gave him a slight frown when he saw Kravitz. Lucretia smiled at him, but Kravitz could tell that she was, as always, worried about his influence on Taako.

Magnus stopped mid-throw to run up to Angus and give him a giant hug. Killian and Carey followed him up the steps onto the deck to greet Taako and Kravitz. Magnus let Angus go to give Taako an equivalently giant hug, then pulled back and gave Kravitz a respectful wave. Kravitz smiled back, grateful that Magnus was less affected by his presence.

“So, what do you want to do?” Kravitz asked, reconnecting his arm with Taako’s as Magnus dragged Lup and Angus away for a game of volleyball.

“Well, there’s food out, and fireworks don’t start for another few hours, so whatever’s good,” Taako replied, leading Kravitz over towards the table.

Kravitz quirked an eyebrow. “Fireworks?”

“Ya,” Taako replied. Seeing Kravitz’s confused expression linger, Taako’s jaw dropped. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen fireworks, bone boy!”

“Well,” Kravitz said, blushing, “working as the literal hand of death doesn’t often merit such...gratuitous celebration.”

Taako dropped Kravitz’s arm and started to walk towards Lup. “Then this has to be the absolute best fireworks show _ever_. Be right back, darling.”

With that, he ran off towards the volleyball game, leaving Kravitz alone by the table with Barry, Johann, and Davenport.

An uncomfortable silence settled around the group. Kravitz uncomfortably cleared his throat, avoiding their gaze.

“So,” Barry began, awkward as ever. “How, um, how have you been?”

“Good,” Kravitz replied, still not looking at him. “You?”

“Pretty good,” Barry answered. The silence returned, and Kravitz diverted his attention to a rather appetizing fruit plate.

As the evening dwindled down, Kravitz settled into the natural rhythm of the party, and he gradually felt more and more like he belonged there. Taako commented snidely on a couple occasions about how he’d warmed up to the people there, and he was almost always rewarded with an icy cold elbow in the ribs.

When the sun lowered itself beyond the western horizon, Lup called everyone out to the front lawn for fireworks. Taako, now excited, looped an arm around Kravitz’s and led him around the house. The two sat down front and center as Lup prepared her spells, and Taako leaned his head on Kravitz’s shoulder gently.

“You ready?” Lup asked, glancing at the crowd that had gathered. Receiving numerous nods, she flicked her wrists, and brightly colored beams of light shot into the sky and exploded in midair.

Kravitz was immediately fixated. Bursts of red, green, blue, and every other color imaginable filled the darkened sky, and deafening bursts of noise accompanied them in perfect synchronization. Lup even managed to shape the blasts into smiley faces, stars, and other geometric patterns. It was incredible.

Hearing an amused giggle by his side, Kravitz turned his head to see Taako gazing up at him. The different colors of light tinted his face, making it even more beautiful than it already was. Kravitz cracked a smile. “Shouldn’t you be watching the show?”

“Nope,” Taako replied. “Too busy watching you watch the show, beautiful.”

Kravitz rolled his eyes as Taako closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together. He closed his eyes, concentrating only on Taako and the dramatic blasts of noise from his left.

He had fireworks of his own going on inside his head. 


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz should really turn his notifications off.

Kravitz awoke the next morning to his phone buzzing nonstop on the nightstand. He shook his head and scrolled through the flood of messages he’d received last night. Apparently, someone had added him to a group chat consisting of everyone from yesterday’s party.

His eyes widened at a particular thread of messages from 1:35 am.

The first of these messages was from Merle. He’d attached a picture with the caption of “Nice pyrotechnics, Lup ;-)”. The picture in question was of him and Taako kissing beneath an array of red, heart-shaped fireworks.

Practically everyone in the chat had responded with variations on “How cute!” or “niiiiiice”. Lup sent a string of emoticons which implied various...activities. Carey even invited the two to face off in a “cutest couples death match” next week.

Kravitz laughed to himself before typing out a reply:

“I take it this means I can come back?”


End file.
